Wilkes puts on Seussical

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“Seussical: the Musical,” a show that cast and crew members said will resonate with students, despite its history as a children’s theatrical piece, is the next production of the Wilkes University Theatre.

Shaun Pierre, a sophomore theatre major who plays several minor characters in the upcoming production, said the play’s lighthearted nature is a change students can enjoy.

“I never expected to see so many of my friends here at Wilkes excited to see ‘Seussical’,” he said. “(They’re excited to) see something that reverts to their childhood. It’s nostalgic in a time where a lot of us are worried about finals, or getting a loan for next semester. They’re excited to relax with something familiar.”

Erin Reese, the play’s stage manager, said the themes prevalent in the production, such as the commercialization of Christmas or how differences create inequality, will be better understood by students, despite the fact that it’s catered to children.

“As a college student, it will still be interesting to see,” Reese said. “All of (Dr. Seuss’s) books were about social situations; they were commentary on society … I think in a lot of ways, the darker parts of the show would be more (interesting) to adults because they understand it better than children would.”

The show, Reese said, is based on all of Dr. Seuss’s books but focuses particularly on “Horton Hears a Who.” In addition, Reese said that technically speaking, the production will be on larger scale than Wilkes has seen in almost three years.

“It’s literally massive. Our choreography is massive,” she said. “Having 20 people on stage at Wilkes is a big thing.”

Pierre said, “I think people will be astounded not just by the show itself, but the costumes (as well),” Pierre said. “They’re really intricate and cool … you’ll be interested to see how we did a lot of these, animals especially.”

The play will run the weekends of Nov.8 and Nov. 15 at the Dorothy Dickson Darte center. Tickets are free with a student ID.